Kenyan president discusses Haiti, UN reform, Gen-Z protests

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New York - On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Kenyan President William Ruto sat down with VOA's Peter Clottey for an in-depth conversation Thursday.

Ruto discussed his recent visit to Haiti, where he met with the top police commanders leading efforts to combat gangs and restore order in the Caribbean nation. He also addressed the proposal for Africa to secure two permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council, as well as the growing protests by Kenya's Gen-Z demanding reforms in the East African country.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA's Peter Clottey: Thank you very much, Mr. President, for having us this morning. What was your overarching message during your speech at the U.N. General Assembly?

Kenyan President William Ruto: Three messages: the ravaging war around the world, tensions and conflict - you know, from Ukraine, Darfur, Sudan, DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] - and the failure of the multilateral system, especially the U.N. General Assembly and specifically the U.N. Security Council, to be a force of good and a place where we resolve issues.

In fact, it has become a gridlock and part of the problem. There is urgency in reforming the U.N. Security Council so that it reflects the dynamics and responds to the urgency of the situation that we face at the moment. It is our position that the U.N. needs to be reformed yesterday - to make it democratic, representative and agile - so that it can respond to the times of challenges of our time.

Number two is the challenge we have about the debt situation, the economic situation globally, and the fact that many countries in the Global South, many countries are facing the possibility of debt default. And a need to reform the international financial system, deal with credit rating agencies, ensure that there is longer-term financing, there is concessional financing, there is financing that is at scale to make sure that countries can be able to push their development programs, pay for social services and manage the serious challenges of debt.

Thirdly, climate change and the huge potential and opportunity that we have, especially in the Global South, and more particularly in Africa, for the huge resources, energy resources that we have, mineral resources that are in plenty, and the human capital that exists, that we can use to turn the climate change that is ravaging the world into an opportunity for Africa to industrialize, to create jobs, and to decarbonize the whole world. So, these were my very three pointed messages. Of course, not forgetting the challenge we have in Haiti and what Kenya is doing about it.

VOA: You were there recently and met with Kenyan police officers. What were your observations, and what did the Kenyan police officers tell you about the challenges they face in Haiti?

Ruto: I met with Haiti's political leadership, and we had a candid conversation. I was supposed to be there for an hour but stayed for four. I also met the commanders of the Kenyan contingent, the Multinational Security Support Mission [MSS] and the Haitian police leadership. My assessment was more positive than I initially thought. The reports I received indicated that the pessimists and critics who saw no hope in Haiti are changing their tune. The airport, which used to be under gunfire, is now safe, with more flights coming in and out. The palace is secure, the National Hospital is in good hands, and the National Police Academy, which had been overrun by gangs, is now training officers. I see a very positive trajectory.

The Kenyan commanders on the ground and the Haitian police confirmed this to me, though they still face logistical challenges and need more resources and personnel.

VOA: Will Kenya provide that additional support?

Ruto: I immediately made the decision that Kenya is going to have another 600 security officers sent to Haiti to add on to the 400 already there - 300 next month, and 300 in November. And I am going to mobilize the rest of the global community to make sure that by January, we have 2,500 police officers so that we can execute the mandate that was given to us by the U.N. resolution setting up the MSS in Haiti.

VOA: There are suggestions that perhaps the U.N. should lead this effort. Where does Kenya stand on that?

Ruto: Whichever way we go, so long as we deploy the requisite personnel on the ground, mobilize resources necessary, the logistics that are needed for us to do the job in Haiti, whatever name we call it, whatever color we give it, my position is that we must focus on making sure that within a year.

VOA: What is your plan for the youth of Kenya in terms of listening to them instead of coming up with specific plans to meet their calls and demands? And how do you react when they said, 'Mr. President must go. He has not kept his promises. He has to go'?

Ruto: Kenya is a robustly democratic country. I mean, because we are a democracy, I see people even in New York here demonstrating and making all manner of statements, and that is the beauty, that is the diversity of democracy.

I have a very clear, elaborate plan on job creation, our housing plan. Our digital footprint plan, our plan on export of labor. We just signed today here in New York a bilateral labor agreement with Austria, where Kenyan young people, the best resource we have, will find jobs in Austria. I came last week from, the other week, from Germany, doing the same thing, creating opportunities for the young people of Kenya to work in Kenya and to work abroad.

This is my plan. It is elaborate, understood, and I'm rolling out, and I'm confident that before leaving Nairobi, I launched Climate Works. That is going to hire another 200,000 young people across Kenya on climate action and make sure that we deal with the environmental issues and climate change that is threatening humanity and having significant adverse effects on the people of Kenya swinging from drought to floods, and that program is now on its way beginning 1st of October.

This Q&A originated in VOA's English to Africa Service.

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